Lowryder2 Grow Journal 2nd grow

My first grow turned out comical, the plant at 10 weeks was 3" tall and produced one set of leaves and one bud. I am not sure what I did wrong, I did take it outside a bunch of times and then back under the lights and that may have stunted its growth. Also, I may have overwatered it althought the leaves never showed any indication of sagging. I also had the lights on 24/0 for the first 6 weeks then just left it in my window.

Here is my setup for grow number 2:
Soil: MiracleGro Organic Choice potting mix for the seedling, after 1 week I will transplant the baby into same mix with some blood meal and bone meal mixed, as well as a watering with SUPERthrive
Lights: 2 100W CFLs - see picture
Light cycle: There is much debate what is best, I will try 18/6 from start to finish
Watering: Water whenever the top 1/4" of soil is dry to the touch

Here is a pic of day 2 after sprouting and grow box

Any comments are appreciated

Here is what the bud from the first grow looks like... yea I know, I can hear you laughing

If I had to guess based on what you've said so far, I'd say a big part of the problem is just not having nearly enough light. Those aren't 100w CFLs, those are 100w equivalent CFLs. They're probably something like 26w actual. A lit fart is almost that bright.

I hate paying lots of money for lights, but it really is worth it in the end. If you want to boost your output on the cheap, I'd recommend going to 1000bulbs.com - check out their CFLs and get something like the 105w bulb they sell. Keep in mind that the "E26" base is the standard lightbulb socket like what you've got in your set-up. You can get a 105w bulb there in any spectrum you want that will fit a standard socket and pump out a load of lumens (just shy of 7000). They claim it's a 500w incandescent equivalent.

I haven't grown with that particular light, but it is SURE to beat the pants off what you're using now. I'd recommend getting 2, just in case one burns out or something. They're only about $20 each, so it's definitely cheaper than springing for some HIDs and you don't have to worry too much about heat.

Beyond that it's mostly a matter of keeping 'em fed and watered properly.

And I don't really think there's any debate about what lighting cycle is best. It's 18/6.

Cool site, thanks! Since the lowryder2 is autoflowering Im assuming you would use the same light for the entire life of the plant, instead of having 2 different bulb temperatures for the veg and flowering stages. Should I just use a bulb with an intermediate temperature like 4000 or 5000K? PLease advise.

Hey kaarne, take a look at my Snow White thread, i just have 4 100w equivalent. they work awesome. U just need some mylar, and 3 more of those bulbs and u will do great. and use utility clamp lights u can get them at home depot for 3 bucks a piece. and i have been flowering with the same bulbs that i vegged with, so to me...different spectrums dont matter. im pretty sure its just better for the plant. good luck, and check my Aerogarden Snow White/ K2 grow thread.

that lil bud is funny as shit.if u grow ur lr2 right,it will get about 2ft wit popcorn nugs and one fat main cola.it will stink up your whole house it will reek,thats a gaurentee.

thanks wackymack, Im glad you are amused. I dont know if im thrilled about my WHOLE HOUSE being stunk up, my roomate may not appreciate that :O...Ok, so Im changing up my setup. I picked up some Eko Potting Mix and worm castings. I will be using 20-20-20 plant food for the entire lifetime starting 2 weeks after transplanting the baby into the new mix. I will be using 3 cool white 100W CFL's instead of 2. The only other thing I am not completely sure about is when and how much SUPERthrive to use. Watering of course will occur whenever the top 1/4" of the soil beocmes dry. It is day 3, I will make a posting with progress and pictures every 5 days.

my lr2 stinks my whole house accordin to my mother,but my brother cant smell it when he comes by,but some days when its cold out and the windows are closed thats when i can smell it.mine will be done in about a week or two.the main cola is gettin super fat.the nutes made it reach its full potential.i used bloom nutes after it showed the sex.and ive been flushing for the past 2weeks,and its startin to show nitrogen defficency,but thats exspected.im not worried,its goin to top out prob 30in.it just put on 2in of fresh bud in 3days.its gettin wicked phat.im goin to take a pic tonight and ill put a pic on this thread to show u my bitch

Ok ima jump in here, and help ya get the most from ya LRs...

Firstly, 24/0 light schedule will work with LRs, but its not ideal..Remember we're trying to recreate nature in our indoor grow rooms, and nowhere on earth gets a full 24 hrs of sunlight. I grow a heck of a lot of LRs for my auto crosses, and the optimum light schedule appears to be 18/6 from start to finish, they really enjoy the 6 hrs off time, and grow like mad.

Its critical that you get more light in there too bro.. altho LRs will survive and flower in poorly lit areas/grow spaces, they will never reach their full potential.. If i'm growing with CFL i deploy them like this, first wk use one cfl per plant of highest wattage you can find, 20w cfl 100w equivalent will work sweet for now..2nd/3rd wk, 2 cfls again of the highest wattage available to you, as soon as they hit the 4th wk and start growing more rapidly, use 3 cfls around the sides of the plants and 1 HIGH watt cfl for the canopy...as soon as they are around 6-8" i swap the CFL over the canopy for a CFL flood light that holds 2 bulbs, the type that contain 4 pin PLC energy saving bulbs, as these are available in both spectrums 2700k and 6400k.
around the 12" mark, add another CFL to the sides for supplemental lighting.
This setup would then be used for the rest of the grow.
Also, CFLs must be approx 1 - 2" from the plant, any further and their efficiency is drastically reduced..

If you have more than one plant in there, you can just use 3 cfls for side lighting as they will share the weak light from the other CFLs that surround your other plants.
Mylar is a must too.

As far as light spectrums goes, i've done grows using 100% 6400k and 100% 2700k setups, and believe me, the 2700k setup was much better...
Veg is over in the first 10 - 14 days... so excess blue spectrum light, whilst it'll make them grow nice n healthy, also seems to restrict flowering somewhat.
When doing a CFL grow i use 70% 2700k CFLS and 30% 6400k...that way the spectrum is a lil closer to natural light, as , even in late summer when the daylight consists of high amounts of red spectrum light, there is still blue light in the mix.


Ok, the miracle grow compost might be a lil too HOT for the LRs too.
LR stains dont like high nute levels, i usually start off in john innes no1 seedling compost, then transfer to a mix of john innes and wests advanced plus, which they seem to like alot..
Most multi purpose composts have enough nutes for 4-6wks, so in theory, there isnt any need to feed your seedlings until they start to show sex around day 17 for males and day 21+ for females..
When they show sex, start with a very weak solution of Bloom booster/flowering nutes, organics work very well with this strain, and generally dont exceed 1/2 to 3/4 recommended dosage... Nutes that are high in Nitogen will not help with flowering, try to get a nute that has plenty of Phosphorous/potassium and other trace elements. the Bio bizz range for example work great.
Also as soon as they sex, start with light eeds of molasses every other watering, remembering to flush the pot after every 2 applications of molasses or the soil with get clumpy and will be hard for the plant to absorb nutes, as well as being a potential problem area for pests that like sugary stuff.
A typical example of my nute regime as soon as they sex is as follows - 1ml biobizz grow, 2-3ml of topmaxx bloom booster,ocassionally 1 drop of superthrive or 1ml of rhizotonic and 1 tsp of molasses(1tsp to every gallon)

Use superthrive every couple of waterings for the first 2-3wks, 1 drop per litre is more than enough..foliar feed or mix with nutes/water.

Here's a typical example of a regular LR2 that yielded a lil over an ounce and a half


check out my profile for other LR related posts etc.

oops almost forgot,
LR/LR2 and the other LR hybrids like to dive deep.. shallow pots seem to get sucky results.
They dont require huge pots, a 2L or 3L pot will suffice, so long as its atleast 6-8" in depth,and they wont get rootbound... cut off soda bottles work great if youre stuck, just remember to duct tape the bottle or wrap them in paper etc so light doesnt get to the roots.

that looks like lr1 not 2,when i post a pic of mine later can u guestimate how much i will get dry?i think maybe 25gdry

That was one of the first batch of LR2 that i got from joint doctor to test out.
If i remember correctly the pic was taken around 2-3wks before i chopped it, i like to let them run over so the trichs are 60% amber 40% cloudy.
The suggested 60 days seed to bud is a lil premature as far as i've experienced, mine tend to run to 75-85 days, for how i like them to smoke.

It'd be a bit difficultto guess dry weight without knowing your setup and an idea of the height /girth of the colas...
but 25g is good for these, many people dont get anywhere near that.
but with a lil experimenting and tuning their setups, they could be averaging 25g real easy

i got mine under a 17.5/6.5 cycle for the entire life,the harvest date is the 25th but im goin to give another week or so,i want 50 to 75% amber.im goin to take a pic in a few min.ill write down the measurements.

is it a HPS/HID grow or CFL?
Cfl tend to be a lil fluffy and less dense buds, but if its done right theyll be close to HPS quality.

Bro i gotta scoot...i'll check in a lil later if'n i get chance..

Go steady

its under cfls,startin to show nute defic. 15 in tall,12in wide and main cola is 2in wide

Thank you guys for the invaluable help, i just got a 150W CFL 2300K with my 2 100W 6000 CFLs on 18/6 with 20-20-20 nutes, and superthrive in organic soil with worm castings. We shall see what goes down. Keep checkin back I will have pics every 5 days. NICE PLANTS you guys got, I hope mine turn out similar.

Sounds like you should be in much better shape. You can never have too much light (unless it starts cooking your plants).

And just in case you didn't know, the lower light temperatures (like your 2300K CFL) perform better for flowering while the higher light temperatures (like the 6500K CFLs) perform better for vegetative. If you only get one, get the lower - which you've done.

One nice thing about using CFLs is it gets pretty easy to build modularly. You can just add lights until you're happy with the results. Stick the big ones up top and use the little ones for lateral lighting.


Who knows, maybe next you'll be cranking out a little bubbler bucket or similar hydro system. Be careful, indoor growing can be habit forming...

It feels like it is becoming a habit, yikes! But I plan to keep it small and for my own consumption, this should keep me in the green zone. The new lighting setup is definately showing results! Here is a pic of my baby at DAY 5, the leaves are really starting to grow dwarfing the main stem. The 18/6 looks like its working out as well, this grow should be a huge improvement. I'm hoping it is a female, this was my last seed. Also, when would be the best time to transplant to the vegging pot, at 1 week or more?

If ur going to stay in cfls , Save up a litle and get a module base ballast , get a 200watter Cfl 600 incadescent 150-200$ , 12,000 lumens 5000 k . Im using one on the side of my clones but my friend that had it befor told me u can grow/flow 6 plants with it thats how the light is powerfull. u can see it in this video i think newair.flv - Video - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting.